Discover
Mauritius

“Mauritius was made first, and then heaven;
and that heaven was copied after Mauritius.”

Mark Twain

Introduction

Discover Mauritius

A subtropical island country in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, Mauritius forms part of the Mascarene Islands. Of volcanic origin, the island is entirely surrounded by coral reef, and has sandy beaches. Rodrigues Island and other smaller islands forms part of Mauritius outlying territories. Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius.

Population

As at January 2021

The population of Mauritius
was estimated at 1.27 million

Location

The population of Mauritius as at January 2021 was estimated at 1.27 million. Situated in the south-west Indian Ocean slightly over the tropic of Capricorn, Mauritius is surrounded by the warm Indian Ocean with La Reunion to the southwest, Rodrigues to the northeast. Mauritius has a latitude of 20° south, a longitude of 57° east of Greenwich and an area of 1,864 km2.

History

In 1598, the island experienced the first traces of man’s settlement by the Dutch who called it Mauritius in homage to their Prince Maurice de Nassau. In 1710, the Dutch abandoned the island which was later occupied by the French who renamed the island as Ile de France. Serving as a refuge and supply base for ships bound to Europe’s India, the French realised the importance of the island geopolitical because of its sea route to India. Due to its growing political importance, the island was attacked by the British in 1810 and that was a victorious one. The British renamed the island Mauritius.

Economy

Mauritius is known to have made an exceptional growth in its economy since its independence in 1968, from a mono-crop economy, the sugar industry with a GDP per capita of around USD 200 to the setup of EPZs in the 70s and 80s where the Textile industry was lift-off. In the 80s and 90s, a speedy expansion in the hospitality industry happened, followed by the financial services in the 90s and until recently that of the ICT and professional services. The wage rate index in Mauritius, increased by 0.5% or 0.6% reaching 112.3 in the second quarter of 2019 an increase from the first quarter with 111.7.

Language

Créole is widely spoken by most of the population. However, French and English are used in the professional and academic settings. Due to their multi-ethnic backgrounds Mauritians are multilingual and speak Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Urdu, Mandarin and so on. There is no language barrier to interact with people in Mauritius.

Climate

Throughout the year, Mauritius enjoys a mild tropical maritime climate and has two seasons: a warm humid summer extending from November to April and a relatively cool dry winter from June to September. During summer, the island has a mean temperature of 24.70 degrees Celsius and during winter, a mean temperature of 20.4 degrees Celsius. The island receives 6.5 to above 8 hours of bright sunshine daily whereby the coastal regions are mostly exposed to longer hours of sunshine compared to the Central Plateau exposed to around 5 hours only.

Transportation

Buses, taxis, and now Metro Express, it is getting increasingly easy to get around Mauritius. Mauritius has a bus network that covers a large part of the island with many stops across villages and towns and is shared between several public operators.

The Metro Express in 2020 route connects Rose-Hill to Port-Louis and is expected to connect Curepipe to Port-Louis via 19 stations in 2021. Several ATMs will be put at the disposition of the public with an easy payment option.

Leisure

Attractions, Tours and Excursions are the leading provider of leisure in Mauritius offering an extensive range of attractions, activities, tours, and excursions. From sightseeing tours to once in a lifetime experience like swimming with dolphins, Mauritius has something to meet the requirements of every kind of traveler.

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